Aerial view of Nobel School

By Pauline Maryan

Aerial view of Nobel School in 1963
Stevenage Museum PP1473
This page was added on 24/01/2011.

Add your comment about this page

Your email address will not be published.

  • I don’t suppose anyone remembers me. I was a very shy quiet young girl. I don’t think I ever spoke to a boy. But I would like to say Hi to Richard Odell and Caroline Scott who have made comments below. I remember you both. My best subjects were maths, english, swimming and needlework. Apart from that, I hated every other subject. I didn’t like some of the teachers as in my opinion they tried to make you look stupid in class. I think I was at Nobel from 1965 – 1969 and left at 16 to go to Stevenage College which was great.

    By Maggie Lindsay (09/10/2021)
  • I have fond memories of Nobel School, being there from 1974 until 1979. My form tutor was Mr Stone, so I started in S1, he was a fab Maths teacher.

    Other teachers I remember were Mr Atkinson, English I think, bushy black beard, Miss Auerbach, Music, I was tone deaf, she tolerated me I think. Mr Rose the Head, very authoritative, but respected. Mr McEwan was French I think, short fuse, things would be thrown often!

    There are some teachers I can’t remember but they inspired me, long time ago, memory not good. An excellent Geography teacher, loved Geography. Loved History too, great teacher, liked him, and my fave subject Environmental Science for the kids that couldn’t grasp Physics or Chemistry. Great teacher but can I remember him! Pupils I remember were Steve West, Richard Newton, Robert McGowen, Keith Assender, Steve Leggett, brain freeze now. School dinners were fantastic, those dinner ladies sure could cook. Mash out of an ice cream scoop, delish gravy, lovely. Happy days.

    By Mike King (11/05/2021)
  • I started in 1966, 1W, first year in the main block with Miss Newman, 2 years in the Science block with Miss Press, 2 years in the Library class with Mr Atkinson and then off to the 6th form with Mr Bale. Good (mostly) times.

    By Dave Watson (08/07/2020)
  • I was a pupil at Nobel between 1965 until 1970/71. I moved away to Devon 1979 with some fond memories. I remember Mr Rose and Miss Carr. Mr Rose was firm but I didn’t get on the wrong side of him! Pupils I remember were Lawrence Munday, John Day, Nigel Hildreth. I went on to become a Metrologist [measuring things] in the aerospace industry for the last 41yrs.

    By Eric Foster (06/07/2020)
  • I joined the school in 1963 in form 1H, with Mr Healey as the form teacher. I vividly remember Miss Auerbach as my music teacher, I played recorder and flute. Unfortunately I left at the end of the 4th form as my family moved to Hertford, I did miss the school as my new school was all boys and definitely didn’t have the same friendly feeling.

    By Colin Bell (08/02/2020)
  • I believe I was there from 63 (remembering the dates on my bus and train passes). 7.30 am train from Letchworth to the Old Stevenage station (still had gas lights) then a bus to the town centre, stock up in the sweet shop opposite the toilets. Then another bus to Chells. Reading the other comments I am now remembering the teachers. I got kicked out of R.E. by Miss Carr but got extra art lessons. Miss Auerbach took music. Mr Mathews was our form teacher (4T when I left) . I was useless at all sports but loved swimming. Hated that cross country run through a frozen river bed. When I asked to leave at 15, Mr Rose said I would be a drifter. He was right, after a couple of years in the rag trade I joined the Merchant Navy. Been changing jobs every few years since but all for the good.
    People I remember: Ray Deadman, Stephen Wells, Ian Pugh, Ron Fink. ( I believe Tim Piper and Robin Newt died early). Some of the girls included. Pauline Davy, Susan Hollyoak, Christine Ball, Alison Moles (who I met up with years later).
    If anyone wants to get in touch, it would be nice to reminisce.

    By Richard (Dick) Odell (09/03/2019)
  • Nobel School is now located at the former Chells School site in Mobbsbury Way, Stevenage. I cannot remember Bedwell School ever being re-located on the former Chells school site. Bedwell School changed its name to Marriott’s School. One wonders why a school located in the Chells area of the town was called Bedwell School – I know of people who would search for the school in the Bedwell area. Marriott’s was the name of the farm in the Chells area, which in 1972 became Fairlands Valley Lakes. Marriott’s School was a more appropriate name for the school all along. I attended Nobel from 1975-1980 and have many happy memories. Sadly, many of the teachers I knew have passed away, the most recent being my maths teacher, who passed away last Friday.

    By Cheryl Marioni (31/03/2018)
  • I started 1st year in 1969 in the now demolished Six hills way site old Girls grammar school. 1st and 2nd years started there with lessons split between Telford avenue site. I was actually hit by the hand bell ringing when it came off its handle and there was “no bell” to ring for some time.
    We had to leave lessons early to give us time to walk across the playing field to the main school for next lesson. The back building in the photo was the science block, the middle was dinning room, offices including head masters. There was the general classroom block and also arts, domestic science (cookery), wood & metal work. A computer terminal link to Hatfield poly as it was then was installed in the dinning room foyer early to mid 70’s where we booked online time to test our punch cards computer programming. I finished back at the Six hills way site when it was used as a 6th form centre along with teacher training and lunch time music concerts.
    I remember head master Mr Rose, who believed in corporal punishment and shamed pupils in morning assembly. His wife Mrs Rose taught English, Mr Stone was a brilliant maths teacher, Miss Arbuckle (not sure of German spelling) music, miss Cooper Geography, mr Chapman, science (he always wore patterned shirts with matching tie).
    We always had to stand up when a teacher entered the classroom. A couple of older teachers always wore their gowns.

    By Lynn Males (15/10/2017)
  • I had great memories of my time at the school. Which probably explains my lack of useable qualifications. Mr Rose was a brilliant head teacher, it was Miss Carr who terrified the life out of me together with Mrs Conlon the Home Ec. teacher. Mr Peach was a bit of a tyrant. When in a particularly angry tirade an umbrella was required if you sat in the front row of the physics lab.The morning assemblies were inspirational and the memory of my frequent coughing fits therein, still bring a tear to my eye. I can actually remember some of the assemblies as if they were yesterday. I can also remember the meals in the canteen and the exact position of our favourite table. I started in September 1964.

    By Caroline Scott (07/02/2014)
  • I had a trip down memory lane yesterday.Came to see Ridgemond Park yts on Telford avenue.I was there on training from August 1988 to August 1990.Now with houses have been built looked so different,but brought back good memories.I remember some of the tutors there at the time,Roy Mattews,Rita Edmunds,Carol Skidmore. There were others tutors as well.Be nice to hear from them and friends who knew me.

    By Kamal Suain (11/11/2013)
  • I remember Mr Rose as a strong disciplinarian whom the children were scared off. I remember on numerous occasions him grabbing pupils and slamming them against the wall, At the time I thought he was a thug but I probably realise that as the school was now a comprehensive, it was the start of the lack of discipline creeping in and the lack of respect(1973-1978) and Mr Rose was seeing the decline in standards. I remember Mr McEwan throwing the wooden handled black board eraser at me….and I deserved it. I came out of school with 2 O levels AND 5 CSE’S. Not great as I hated school so much but I was never disrespectful to a teacher.

    By Glenn Reeve (31/10/2013)
  • I went to the Nobel when it was a yts training centre.Ridgemond park.I was there from August 1988 to 1990.The training worked for me.All the tutors where great,kind and understanding.I would like to hear from tutors who knew me,and friend who knew me.It has a place in my heart,such a nice place.

    By kamal suain (22/09/2012)
  • I moved to Nobel from Ashtree junior in 1966. Leslie Rose the Headmaster was a kind man who tried to remember every pupils name and was clearly enthusiastic about everything. I got my A levels, but the school gave me something far more important; a rounded education.

    By John Bissell (21/09/2012)
  • I was a founder pupil of the Nobel Grammar School – one of the original 43 pupils and 4 staff who came together in borrowed accommodation at the former Girls’ Grammar School premises on Six Hills Way in September 1961. The original staff line-up comprised Mr Leslie Rose (Head and teacher of history and geography), Ken Maynard (Maths, Science and PE), Tom Stroud (English and German and PE) and Margaret Boosey (who later became Mrs Peach, largely, I suspect, as a result of my asses head in our production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream) who taught Art. We had hoped to hold a special 50th Anniversary reunion of the original cohort in 2011 but, for various reasons, it did not happen.

    By Ian Payne (28/12/2011)
  • Nobel School was founded in 1961 as a Technical Grammar School, and was originally in temporary accommodation at the Girls’ Grammar School site in Six Hills Way. It became Nobel School in 1963 in Telford Avenue, where it remained until it merged with Chells School and moved to the Mobbsbury Way site in 1983. There are some errors in the introduction page to Nobel School. It did indeed open in September 1961, annexed in the Girls’ Grammar School, Six Hills Way, until September 1962 when it moved to its own new buildings in Telford Avenue. It was known as The Technical Grammar School, until 1962 when it chose the name Nobel. (Incidentally, the Telford Avenue site had the newly formed Bedwell School annexed with it until September 1964, when Bedwell moved into its own buildings, which were also in Telford Avenue.) Nobel remained at only the Telford Avenue site until September 1968, when the Girls’ Grammar School vacated their Six Hills Way site, to move to the Valley site. At that point, Nobel also took over the Girls’ School old Six Hills Way site and used it for years 7 and 8 and half of years 12 and 13 (using current terminology for school years). The split site usage by Nobel continued until September 1983, when Nobel combined on a single site on the former Chells School site on Mobbsbury Way. Chells School was closed from that date and taken over by The Bedwell School. At no time did Nobel merge with, or take over, Chells. The Nobel Grammar School changed its name to The Nobel School (in, I think, 1970) with the gradual change to all ability intake, which began from September 1969. The first Headteacher of The Nobel Grammar School was J. Leslie Rose, who lived in Knebworth and was Head of Nobel from September 1961 until his retirement in, I think, July 1989. The first Deputy Head was Margaret Carr, who left the school in December 1969. The Nobel School (currently undergoing a major building programme) continues to flourish and is still based in Mobbsbury Way.

    By Robin Parker (20/09/2011)